Influence of the microwave radiation of different polarization state on transinactivation effect and viability of Drosophila

The influence of microwave radiation (λ = 3.8 mm, intensity P = 0.1 mW/cm2) on stocks and hybrids of Drosophila melanogaster was investigated. Irradiation at the egg stage negatively influences the reproductive ability and output of the imago, and induces significant changes in the eye pigmentation of the imago. The effect of radiation depends on the state of polarization of the radiation. Linearly polarized radiation and left circularly polarized radiation induce a decrease of pigmentation, right circularly polarized radiation induces an increase of it. As the amount of the pigment is connected with manifestation of the transinactivation effect and the reinforcement of the transinactivation effect is connected with an increase of the conjugation of homologous chromosomes, the authors draw the conclusion that left polarized radiation and linearly polarized radiation cause the reinforcement of the transinactivation effect. The authors suppose that the observed effect is connected with an increase of chromosome conjugation in the interphase nucleus; the action of the right circularly polarized radiation is connected with a reduction of the effect of transinactivation that, in its turn, is connected with a reduction of the conjugation of homologous chromosomes in the interphase nucleus

GWAS of 126,559 Individuals Identifies Genetic Variants Associated with Educational Attainment

A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment was conducted in a discovery sample of 101,069 individuals and a replication sample of 25,490. Three independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are genome-wide significant (rs9320913, rs11584700, rs4851266), and all three replicate. Estimated effects sizes are small (coefficient of determination R2 ≈ 0.02%), approximately 1 month of schooling per allele. A linear polygenic score from all measured SNPs accounts for ≈2% of the variance in both educational attainment and cognitive function. Genes in the region of the loci have previously been associated with health, cognitive, and central nervous system phenotypes, and bioinformatics analyses suggest the involvement of the anterior caudate nucleus. These findings provide promising candidate SNPs for follow-up work, and our effect size estimates can anchor power analyses in social-science genetics